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Spikes Under the Lights: Florida, Nebraska, Penn State and SMU to vie for $1 million prize pool at AT&T Stadium

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp05/05/26

Four storied college volleyball programs will compete in an event with a $1 million prize pool at AT&T Stadium early in the 2026 season. Florida, Nebraska, Penn State and SMU are set to participate in the Spikes Under the Lights debut, a primetime event set to air on major national network TV.

The prize pool, per the event, is the largest ever awarded in women’s college sports. So there will be plenty to play for.

The event will be a three-hour event on live primetime television, though the exact network has not yet been announced. The broadcast partner details will be announced in the coming weeks, according to a press release from Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide.

Spikes Under the Lights will be the first women’s college sporting event to take place at AT&T Stadium, one of the most iconic venues in all of sports. It will also be one of the first women’s sporting events held in an NFL stadium.

AT&T Stadium has a capacity of up to 100,000, so it will be interesting to see how much the historic Spikes Under the Lights event can pull in. Early ticket information was also released on Tuesday.

Ticket pre-sales will begin May 4 for AT&T Stadium suite holders, followed by a SeatGeek pre-sale on May 7. Public tickets will go on sale beginning May 8.

Of the four programs set to participate in the Spikes Under the Lights event, only SMU had issued a press release at the time of this writing. Head coach Sam Erger expressed excitement about being selected to play in the prestigious event.

“Is there anything more exciting than big-time volleyball in a big-time venue?” Erger said on the event. “Playing at the Dallas Cowboys home field, AT&T Stadium, and representing SMU and the city of Dallas is an honor. This is the kind of opportunity we want our players to expect when they choose to play here. We hope the Dallas volleyball community will come out and support this team that includes many of their hometown stars as we play in the best venue the city has to offer.”

According to a press release, Spikes Under the Lights is designed as an annual tentpole event, an owned and operated franchise that will evolve year over year with a rotating field of top programs, emerging rivalries, and returning stars.